Overall, Jared Triolo didn’t have the most remarkable of seasons in 2024 for the Pittsburgh Pirates.
After a red-hot finish at the plate to conclude the 2023 campaign, followed by a solid offensive performance over spring training, Triolo seemed in position to carve out a larger role with the Pirates this past year.
Instead, he was unable to maintain that momentum, as his batting average hovered near the Mendoza Line heading into the summer, by which time call-ups and eventually trades led to reduced playing time.
All that said, Triolo provided value for the Pirates by playing clean defense and being versatile in the field.
His efforts were recognized Tuesday with the announcement that Triolo is one of three National League finalists for a 2024 Rawlings Gold Glove at the utility position.
Triolo is the only Pirate up for a Gold Glove this year.
Ke’Bryan Hayes won it at third base in 2023.
In 2022, MLB created a new Gold Glove category to award players who see action at multiple positions.
Thus, the utility Gold Glove was created and, this year, Triolo is among finalists for NL honors with Brendan Donovan of the St. Louis Cardinals and the Los Angeles Dodgers’ Kike Hernandez.
This past season, Triolo appeared in 119 games defensively for the Pirates, seeing the most time at third (61 games) and second (47) base.
Triolo also made nine appearances (four starts) at first base and played another nine (eight starts) at shortstop.
In 1,010 2/3 innings across all positions, Triolo committed just three errors and had six defensive runs saved, which ranked third on the team behind Michael A. Taylor (12) and Hayes (10).
The awards for the nine traditional defensive positions are handed out via a combination of manager and coaching votes in addition to factoring in SABR’s Defensive Index.
For the utility position, Rawlings collaborates with SABR “to create a specialized defensive formula separate from the traditional selection process,” per MLB’s awards finalists release.
The 2024 Gold Glove winners will be revealed at 8:30 p.m. Nov. 3, on ESPN’s “Baseball Tonight.”